*** This week's meditation technique *** Count to 21 Aro meditation 2 Sit comfortably, as before but this week,

k, open your eyes slightly. This allows a little light to enter but does not allow you to see clearly. The light will help you remain awake and alert. Try remaining still, without fidgeting. Complete motionlessness is impossible. You can move if discomfort prompts but try not to move unnecessarily. Turn your attention to your breath. Silently count each exhalation. Count each out-breath from 1 until you reach 21. Then count your breaths backwards until you reach 1. Repeat this process for the duration of your meditation session. Breathe normally and naturally. Do not attempt to control your breath in any way. Do not breathe any faster, slower, or deeper than usual. Simply allow breathing to happen. You may sometimes become lost in thoughts and suddenly notice that you have stopped counting your out-breaths. Alternatively you may forget the number you have just counted. You may forget whether you are counting forwards or backwards. You may find yourself at 27, having passed 21 without noticing. Whenever you notice that you have lost track of the technique begin again. Return to 1 and count upward again. Try this for ten minutes or fifteen, if you are feeling ambitious. When you have finished, record your impressions.

Notebook follow-up (Read this only after you have tried the new technique.) Which did you prefer, this week's meditation technique, or last week's technique? Your preference is worth noting because it teaches you something about yourself as a meditator. If you prefer the new method is it because it gives more structure? Or is it because you learned something new about yourself by the end of it? What has the new method shown you about yourself and how you function? If you prefer the new method is it because it seems less threatening? Or is it because it is less abstract? If you prefer last week's method is it because it seemed less contrived and artificial? Or is it because it seemed more restful and less taxing? What has last week's method shown you about yourself and how you function?

Obstacles and antidotes Much of this course will concern problems arising for meditators and the solutions for them. Traditionally these are called 'obstacles' and 'antidotes'. When you begin this week's technique, you might find that you rarely get past three. This is not unusual. A universal antidote for meditation obstacles is persistence. A traditional analogy is that gently flowing water is stronger than rock. Rain may seem weak compared to granite but in time, it can wear away mountains. Meditation proceeds mainly by slow steady persistence rather than dramatic breakthroughs. Some days will be easier than others. If you persist you will find that you lose the count less often and that your count proceeds further before you get lost. Do not see losing track as failure. It is easy to be self-critical, to feel that you ought to do better, even to punish yourself mentally but that is entirely unhelpful. Meditation is not

competitive. There are no standards of 'good' or 'bad' performance. It is the activity that is valuable, not the outcome. Gentleness is one of the best antidotes in meditation. Remember this when you are frustrated. Treat yourself with respect, kindness, and friendly curiosity. Each time you notice 'wandering mind' and come back to counting your breath, you experience 'returning mind'. What happens when your mind wanders is not important. You can be happy whenever you notice it because it provides the opportunity to experience returning. If you find this week's exercise difficult, try counting both inbreaths and out-breaths. This may be less difficult. (This is an example of a specific antidote a specific solution for a specific problem.) When you feel relatively confident about counting in and out, return to counting only the exhalations. More about counting Try the technique for two or three days before reading on. Reflect on how counting compares with last week's practice. *** The method of counting your breaths may seem strange, mechanical, and pointless but it has specific practical functions. Let me describe one now. (You will be using variants of this method for the next few weeks, and other functions will become apparent later.) Counting has probably taught you something interesting about yourself: that it is quite difficult to maintain sufficient concentration to accomplish this seemingly trivial task. This opens up the question of how much concentrative ability we may have at other times in other activities. We don't usually notice such lapses of attention and mental wandering in ordinary daily activities but the practice of breath-counting reveals how weak concentration can be. With this technique you can develop your ability to stay with whatever you are doing and to find the presence of awareness there. This ability to focus attention carries over into all activities, including those in which sustained concentration is critical to performance.

When to meditate Some people find it easier to meditate in the mornings, some in the evenings. A good time is when you are alert and relaxed. Choose a time that suits you, and that you can fit into your established daily routine. A regular time helps establish meditation as a positive habit. Preview of next week As you start sitting for longer periods ten minutes rather than five, or fifteen rather than ten you may find it increasingly difficult to remain comfortable. Discomfort can distract you from your meditation. Next week's main topic will address the question of how to sit in a way that is comfortable and also enables you to remain alert. Recommended resources As you continue with meditation, you will find that you have questions that are not yet answered in the course. You may become curious about particular topics that it never covers in depth. Each week, I shall recommend resources for further investigation. This week's resource is the Aro meditation FAQ (answers to frequently asked questions). If you have not already read it it is a good first place to look.